Chapter Four: Theology
Gods do die, it doesn't generally make them less dangerous -- Ursula Vernon, Digger. Tactics Brainwashing Consecrate Prerequisites: All: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Expression 2. Partial (1): Occult 3. Partial (2): Dexterity 2, Crafts 2. Partial (1, Primary Actor): Presence 3, Expression 3. Requires: At least 4, up to 10. Dice Pool: Primary: Presence + Expression. Secondary: Dexterity + Crafts, Intelligence + Occult (one actor) Action: Extended Description: As a rule, cults build temples. So do religions for that matter. If they don't build temples there's often a sacred grove or cave. A cynic might say that temples are a metaphorical wall between mankind and gods; a wall with a physical gate that can be controlled by the priest or cult leader in a way a god never could. A more optimistic person might argue that temples are a way to get all the worshippers in one place where they can participate in rituals that strengthen the group identity, or point out that in many ancient cultures the priestly class was the only educated class and temples were the infrastructure which allowed education to exist. With a cult there is no “might”, a cult knows the purpose of a temple. It is not for the benefit of people, it is for the god. It is built in proportions pleasing to the divine, anointed with incense, chanting, and perhaps the blood of terrified virgins. Cults build temples because their deity asks for them, that is reason enough. The secondary actors do most of the actual work for building a temple. One member is the architect, feng shui expert, or just the guy who knows what the god would like. The others serve as the labour: Carving elegant greco-roman columns, covering the walls with unholy scripture, doing some gardening in the sacred grove, or just downloading lots and lots of pictures of cats. The primary actor serves as the priest. Her job is to ritually dedicate the temple to their deity. Love Bomb Endowments Mimir Serum (OOOO, Renewable) They don't call it torture, they call it enhanced interrogation techniques. Human rights are wonderful thing, but sometimes lives are at stake and you need to call in “information retrieval specialists”. Task Force: VALKYRIE doesn’t do so often, it's not a moral issue. If you hurt people enough they'll say anything they think you want to hear, The Men in Black have more effective ways of digging out the truth. Mimir Serum, or just Truth Serum, is a combination of memory enhancing nootropics and a depressant which appears to relax all inhibitions and to deaden the areas of the brain which govern an individual’s discretion and caution. It's actually just cannabis, but VALKYRIE doesn't like to talk about low tech solutions and RnD never did find a replacement. Function: After administration (which requires the subject to be tied down, or a Dexterity + Medicine -2 check) the subject must make a Stamina + Composure check vs the serum's potency of 7. If the subject wins they are merely stoned and gains a +3 bonus memory for the scene, but if the serum wins the target enters a suggestible intoxicated state where they will truthfully answer any question to the best of their ability. The same +3 bonus applies to memory. Special: The side effects of Mimir Serum include euphoria, hunger, basically it's a large dose of cannabis. The neutropics are mostly safe, but if a person was to take more than Stamina + Resolve doses of Mimir Serum within the space of a weak their memory tends to become overstimulated. In moments of stress they must succeed on a Resolve + Composure roll or loose a turn due to a harmless memory flashback. This effect only lasts for a day. The Evangalist's Words Some among the Malleus Maleficarum believe that this is one of the oldest Benedictions, though there is little evidence for it save that it pettitions St Philip the Evangelist. One of the earliest Saints. St Phillip was renowned for travelling the world and preaching the word of Chirst, and by invoking his name the Malleus Maleficarum can gain a measure of the charisma of the early The Evangilists. Cost: 1 Willpower Action: Instant Dice Pool: Presence + Benediction Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The hunter imediately starts speaking in tongues. They may act freely but cannot make any meingful conversation for the rest of the scene. It is also rather difficult to hide. Failure: Nothing happens. Success: The hunter can add his Benediction to all social rolls, provided they are trying to convince someone to convert to Christianity, or not to leave the church. Exceptional Success: In addition to the above the hunter gains 9again on applicible rolls. Suggested Modifiers: '''The hunter intends to evangelise on people who practice an undeniably corrupted form of Christianity, such as one involving human sacrifice (+3). The hunter intends to evangelise to a legitimate but non Catholic form of Christianity, such as Protestantism or Eastern orthodox (-2). Performed on June 6, Feast day of St. Philip the Deacon (+5) Stains of Torment Harm is a hard concept to pin down, everybody reacts differently. Some can tough out what would scar others for life. Some people repress memories when others would live them every day. Evil though, philosophers may debate Evil but the Lucifuge knows that evil is an objective thing. The Adversary. Satan. “Great Grandfather”. When someone suffers evil it stains the soul, though their connection to the prime evil the Lucifuge can feel out these stains. They can cause the taint to bubble up into the mind, revealing the secrets of the past so that justice might be done at long last. Lots of people have been wronged more than once in their life when sifting through the Stains of Torment a Child of the Seventh Generation can try to set parameters to get to the sin that interests them, if more than one sin fits the perimeters then they will always dig out the most heinous. It's not a nice thing to do to someone, in fact it's a pretty nasty thing for it forces you to relive whatever crime stained your soul for a second time. Therefore using this Castigation is a Morality sin rated between three and six depending on just what you're forcing someone to relive. '''Cost: 1 Willpower Action: Extended (Target's Morality + Resolve Successes: each roll requires a minuet), if resisted the target rolls Composure and must reach the 15 – the Lucifuge's Morality Successes. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: If the Lucifuge somehow managed to win the roll they force their victim to witness a vision of Hell itself. This lasts seven seconds, more than enough time to shatter a mind. The target rolls Morality, on a failure they gain an extreme Derangement, on a Success a severe Derangement and a mild derangement on an exceptional success. This lasts until they receive psychiatric treatment. Indecently doing this to somebody is a Morality 4 sin, Morality 3 if they got an extreme Derangement. Failure: The target does not fall into a trance. Success: The target falls into a trance and begins to narrate (often in voices other than their own) what they are seeing in their vision. Their narration is precise and without bias; in fact it can even reveal facts the victim simply couldn't know such as what their tormentor was thinking at the time. Such information is often preserved within stains upon the soul. Exceptional Success: '''As per a Success, but the Lucifuge can ask specific questions about what the target is witnessing. Modifiers: The Lucifuge can name the exact event they wish to learn about, the time you were attacked on the 14th of march, 1992 (+2), asking about a general theme such as evils committed by a cultist (-2). Asking within very specific perimeters such as the first time your mother beat you (-4). Incense of the Higher World (OOOO) The Ascending Ones know secrets, secrets about this world and others. From the priests of ancient Egypt they know of the divine realm where gods dwell. The faith of Abraham brought with it stories of Jannat and Jahannam. Heaven and Hell. Among the Southern Temple philosophies of alchemical self improvement are common, and for many members achieving communion with the divine is a lifelong goal. While the Knife of Paradise are even more devoted to achieving communion with the divine the Abhramaic faiths place great importance on humility before god, consequently Incense of the Higher World is considered somewhat sacrilegious by the Knife of Paradise. Only the most arrogant, desperate or unusual expressions of faith will cause hunters of the Kinfe to light it. For such an impressive concoction it is surprisingly easy to brew, the trick is in getting the ingredients. Frankincense, ethylene, hashish and peyote are easy to acquire but one part per thousand must be soil taken directly from the realm of the gods. A rare and expensive regent even for the Cult of the Phoenix. When burnt Incense of the Higher World gives of a rich golden smoke, it smells hot, dry and incredibility pure. An experienced likened to the deserts of Ancient Egypt, or the deserts where the Mohammed, Moses and Jesus once spoke with god. A hunter must meditate or pray in a room completely filled with insence, and transmute the smoke within their lungs into pure air to avoid asphyxiation. '''Action: Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Light headed and hallucinating from the incense the hunter ignores their burning lungs, for simplicity treat this as a Toxidity 3 lethal poison. Failure: The hunter retains enough awareness to leave before any serious effects occur, for simplicity treat this as a Toxidity 3 bashing poison. Success or Exceptional Success: The hunters mind rises to the heavens. They can remain for as long as they like or until a god banishes them back to Earth. If the incense was lit in a temple or sacred site the Ascending One will arrive in the domain of the temple's deity, otherwise they could arrive anywhere. Perhaps in terrible danger. Sidebar: A Quick Guide to Heaven A full set of rules and setting for heaven(s) and what a hunter might find there are beyond the scope of this project. As a quick and dirty substitute roll Morality + Elixir – 5, each success gives one clue or piece of advice the hunter received in a conversation with a god, saint or angel (presumably whoever's temple they departed from). Depending on what the god thinks of it's follower modify the roll by up to five dice in either direction, a dramatic failure implies a smiting. Idol of Chitassa (OOO) In 1981 a Hunter loyal to the Agis Kai Doru met a tribe living deep within the Amazon Rainforest, the first woman from western civilisation the tribe had ever seen. Using a Relic that granted comprehension of languages she gained the tribe's friendship, and used it to make of with their most sacred idol: An effigy of the god Chitassa. The idol doesn’t look that impressive, even though it is carved from solid gold the craftsmanship is crude. Nor is it particularly large, being slightly larger than a man's hand. It has no writing or hieroglyphics. There is nothing that sets it apart from the replica idols you might buy in any speciality stores that provide art in traditional styles. Yet the Idol of Chitassa is a Relic, empowered by generations of worship. Benefit: In the presence of deities Chitassa's expression changes. No one ever sees the idol shift, you look away or blink and when you look back the idol is different. In essence, carrying the idol functions quite like the Unseen Sense Merit applied to the divine. A hunter experienced in the idol's ways can even learn something about the present god or worshippers by Chitassa's expression. A hypocritical prayer may make the idol scowl in anger, while even Chitassa may show fear in the presence of an ancient horror from beyond the stars. The idol has a second ability, it is intelligent and capable of speech. It simply chooses not to speak to the Ageis Kai Doru, who it justifiably dislikes for it's own theft. The idol is the god Chitassa, but at the same time it isn't. It is both a fully independent being and a fragment of a deity. It possesses neither Chitassa's divine might, nor his divine perspective, but it does possess Chitassa's wisdom and it's limited perspective is far beyond the human norm (15 dice for Perception, which can also contest most supernatural forms of concealment). While the idol cannot communicate with Chitassa, it understands Him almost as well as itself. In short, if the idol is willing it's equivalent to a five dot portable Mentor (and should probably be priced as such). However it's primary concern is returning home. Like many pre-agriculture gods, Chitassa is concerned with basics such as providing food, curing disease and protecting against attack. Everything beyond this and His' idol's desire to return home is left to the storyteller. Cult Amygdala (OO) Does Cheiron harvest from humans? Well are Witches human? Are the Children of the Seventh Generation? What about cultists? The social life of a cult is one of unhealthy extremes. It is a natural thing for people to divide the world into “them” and “us”, but none take it so far as a cult. Being the adaptive organ that it is, the brain of a cultist modifies itself to thrive in it's unique social environment. Cheiron's surgeon extract the adapted Amygdala, which sits at the centre of the brains social network, from cultists. While some cults may have stranger and more outlandish adaptations: The product of divine favour, occult experimentation or weirder sources, none are so common as the humble Amygdala. Benefit: To gain any use from a Cult Amygdala the hunter must be in the presence of other agents who have a matched Cult Amygdala. In this instance “matched” means that both implants must have been extracted from the same cult and the cult cannot have undergone any major cultural shifts between harvesting (in game terms, it means other members of the cell). If the hunter is in the presence of fellow agents, or has spent at least an hour in their company during the current day, they all gain +1 for each other agent to any Resolve rolls to resist betraying other members. This covers mind or emotional manipulating supernatural effects, as well as more mundane methods such as bribery, persuasion, or torture. The implant doesn’t inherently make the agent less trusting of people outside their circle but when you know there's a small group who won't betray you and everyone else... The Cheiron Group is well aware that a group of Hunters who trust each other implicitly have a high risk of betrayal, going alone is scary, knowing who has your back makes things a lot easier. Consequently hunters who get this implant tend to come from effective teams where the benefit is worth the risk, getting a Cult Amygdala is also a sign that management won't be fucking with you. Why give good agents a reason to resign? However this doesn’t mean that the hunters are told everything. For example, they aren't told that actual members of a cult function just like hunters with a Cult Amygdala. After meeting one it becomes very hard to betray them, and oh so easy to permanently join. Of course the cults who donate their Amygdala are usually dead anyway... usually. New Endowment: Avatar Some gods hold dominion over a concept, they sit in there heavens issuing proclamations and offering blessings or punishments. Other gods embody a concept: Posideon was god of the sea, His uncle Oceanus was the sea. In their own way gods are massive. Power, passion, experience, they have more than a human can comprehend. This vastness gives gods a form of gravity, when a god is a concept it draws similar concepts in. There is an infinite amount of ways to express the concept of motherhood, but a finite (or perhaps a lesser degree of infinite) expressions of motherhood are goddesses. A mortal who expresses the concept of motherhood in a similar way to one of the divine mothers will find themselves naturally becoming a purer expression of the divine. Unless the mortal is incredibly close to the goddess this effect is so subtle to be unnoticeable and will often be overwhelmed by the chaos of everyday life, but when the mortal is close enough it can change everything about her. Not just how she acts as a mother, but her entire persoanlity, her appearance, even her supernatural abilities become closer to the goddess. For most people with the Avatar Endowment this is unnoticeable, changes in personality are indistinguishable from the natural change people experience over time. Her supernatural power manifests as her tiny spark of the divine warping the world around her in subtle ways, not concious abilities. At it's most extreme the former mortal is indistinguishable from the goddess: They have the exact same personality and both wield their full divine majesty. If they do not share memories, conciousness and goals it is a temporary state of affairs that lasts only as long as She sees the benefit of being two people. From the Goddess' perspective Her mortal life was a pleasing diversion. For the mortal this transition blurs the ideas of ascension and utter oblivion of the self until the two are indistinguishable; her kids probably enjoy the free ticket to retroactive demi-godhood. Suffice to say, this extreme form of Avatar-hood is exceptionally rare and by definition anyone who has a goal for divine power that the deity dosn't share down to the last detail will fail to ascend or see those goals fade away as they approach divine union. The mechanics for Avatars presented here stop short of ascension. The Endowment is rated one to five. Each dot grants one power, for dread powers with a variable dot rating then it's dots will follow dots in Avatar as closely as possible. The first three powers should be subtle enough that other characters, and perhaps even the avatar himself, are unlikely to notice anything unusual. An avatar of a war deity might gain the Unholy Attribute dread power. First for Resolve, then for Dexterity. The player retains control of the powers but is encouraged to use them in thematically appropriate ways, in this case when the charachter is in battle. Other characters would merely see a fearless soldier who's a crack shot with a rifle, and probably assume it's merely training and experience. The forth dot of avatar is more overtly supernatural but not under the characters direct control, the solider may find that guns misfire when pointed at him, but he cannot control nor rely on this. Finally the fifth dot is overtly supernatural and consciously controlled, perhaps he can summon duplicates of the God's traditional weapons. Drawback: An Avatar resembles their god, at one three and five dots the charachter gains a Taboo. This is some behaviour that the god would never do, and therefore performing it will distance the mortal from the source of their powers. Breaking a Taboo removes all the benefits of Avatar until a significant amount of time has been spent acting in line with the divine archetype. Assume at least the remainder of the session. In addition the god has a Virtue and a Vice, to reach the second dot of Avatar the charachter must share either Virtue or Vice with the deity, the forth dot requires both to be in common. Alternatively you could simply act like you have the appropriate personality traits, but you have to remain in charachter twenty four seven; at least until the nature of avatars changes your virtue and vice for real. Customising Avatar At it's simplest form customising avatar requires choosing a sequence of five powers, three Taboos and a Virtue and Vice. However there's plenty of room to take things a little further. If you want to emphasise the shifts in behaviour you could make Taboos part of the morality scale, the simplest way would be to make Taboos function like The Code. Buying dots of Avatar function like a breaking point. Tells become traits of the divine personality, some less violent tells may be required. The social penalties represent either the cultural mismatch between the mortal world and the god or how a growing divine perspective makes it harder to relate to the mundane. For gods where social difficulty is inappropriate waive this penalty when a power is used to enhance social abilities. Note that breaking Taboo still cuts of your powers no matter how low your morality is. The Avatar Endowment was written in the style of Compact Endowments, it is assumed that the exceedingly narrow personalities who can use this Endowment would mean that most avatars are solitary and therefore a compact style endowment is more appropriate. If you wish for either an Avatar based Covenant or a more powerful lone avatar you could create a series of related aspects to embody. For example a hypothetical motherhood goddess may encompass: Nurturing her kids, home-making, protecting her kids, providing for her kids and the biological act of reproduction. This could either lead to five different avatar tracks that a mortal can buy individually at their own rate; each would have unique taboos but share a virtue and vice requirement. Alternatively there could be one single avatar trait rated one to five. Each dot provides one power from any of the aspects, providing it costs the same or less than the latest dot purchased. A four dot power requires at least one other power from the same aspect, and a five dot power requires two. Sidebar: Avatar for Everyone One far out idea is to give a large percentage of the World of Darkness a single dot in avatar. The key here is to give Taboos that most people obey anyway, and powers that provide abilities humans have in the real world for mundane reasons. Using the motherhood goddess as an example again: In the real world when a child is in danger the parent's body shuts down it's internal safeties and pushes beyond it's limits. This results in stories of parents lifting cars of their kids. In the World of Darkness this might instead represent a single dot in avatar. That Taboo would be something nearly everyone does anyway like protecting your children. Be careful when introducing such massive changes to the setting. Players invested in the concept of ordinary humans defending themselves from the supernatural might not be happy to discover there resolve in the face of danger is because they're all avatars of some protective deity. New Endowment: Devotion Wealth, fame, glory to shine upon your name. Health, mercy, help for those who need it. Humanities relationship with the divine has always been intertwined with prayer. From bronze age farmers praying that a good harvest will hold back starvation for another year to black robed nutjobs praying for their squamous tentacled god to devour the earth; people ask gods for things. Sometimes the god answer. Generally though the gods don't give their power freely, they might be helping out of charity but even those gods see themselves as something like a teacher or parent. They'll help but they also expect people to learn from their teachings. Other gods might see their followers as pawns and demand actions that fit into some master plan. In short, gods expect Devotion. (If they don't a modified version of the Benediction Endowment covers it. Just create a new set of prayers.) To receive a blessing a cultist pray until she enters a meditative state (WoD: Rulebook, 51). After reaching the correct state of mind the cultist receives a vision of their deity, the specifics vary depending upon the deity and the cultist's relationship with their god but the general gist is that the cultist receives blessings in return for performing some task in their god's name. This might involve a negotiation or just receiving orders from above. They key to Devotion based Endowments is that this is more than a ritual. It's not actions in, blessings out. The cult worships a deity who's active, and who's wants, opinions, and personality matters. Once a pact is formed the cultist may invest dots into various blessings. Each deity offers their own blessings appropriate to their personality and divine purview. Sometimes the Cultist chooses the blessings, sometimes the deity chooses, but outside the game it's always the player's choice. Blessings last for a variable duration, the duration of the blessing determines both how long the follower maintains these powers and the difficulty of the tasks required. All actions must be completed before the duration expires. If the cultist wants to end a pact early they may do so providing they are current on their obligations and willing to tithe a dot of Willpower, otherwise pacts last for the chosen duration. A one day pact requires simple acts that often take less than an hour to perform, such as creating a piece of poetry. Other one day pacts have the follower protect a specific person from an unspecified but eminent danger or prepare a small sacrifice to the god. One week pacts commonly require the supplicant to remain in or avoid a specified region for the duration. Other times the follower must set aside an entire day that week for prayer and devotion or perform a deed that requires a solid day's effort as well as planning. A one month pact is more demanding and inconveniencing. It may require repressing one's Vice (or Virtue) for a full month or a month-long vow of silence. She may need to convert a specific person to the cult or spend a month tracking down complex, expensive and potentially illegal sacrifices. Breaking a pact‘s rules has dire consequences. The punishment's vary by deity and can include: Physical harm, a dot of Morality, a ban on all future blessings until a penance is made. A dot of Devotion is always lost. Customising Devotion There are two things that must be done to adapt Devotion to your cult: The first is to choose a list of Blessings on offer to the cultists, the second is to think about the deities personality. What tasks they are likely to request and how they'd react if a cultist tries to negotiate for a different task. It's also worth thinking about how the cultists pray for blessings. Do they just get down on their knees or do they have to be in a temple? Can any worshipper speak to their deity or must a priest serve as an intermediary? A good way to give at least some mechanical support to a deity's personal preferences is the number of dots available to spend on blessings. Status + Devotion is a common default, but perhaps a god of agriculture will give greater blessings to the humble farmer than a high priest who hasn't tilled a field for a while; giving Status + Professional Training dots. Does the deity allow multiple pacts and let the cultists decide if they can handle the workload, what about polytheistic cults? Is it one pact at a time or one pact per god, and are the dots of blessings split between the gods or cumulative? Sidebar: Devotion for the Malleus Maleficarum Of the core six Conspiracies the Shadow Congregation is undeniably the most religious, but their Endowment is closer to magic spells. There might be a theological reason, a divine fondness for free will or perhaps something more sinister, but if you want to make Benedictions a bit more religious here's a quick and dirty conversion. Receiving a blessing from god requires a priest of the Shadow Congregation, represented by at least one dot in Professional Training as a religious leader and at least one dot of Benediction. Once a pact is sealed allocate the priest's professional training plus the supplicant's devotion into various Benedictions (the priest and supplicant can be the same person). If you put three dots into The Armor of St Martin then you get an Armor rating of 3. This system does make Benedictions weaker, but it also slashes the exp costs significantly. If you want to make the saints individually important you can do that too. The hunters can form multiple pacts, one per saint, providing they have never invested more dots than Devotion plus the latest priest's Professional Training at any one time. The upside is that a pact formed on the correct feast day gains two free dots which do not count towards the total dots invested. Example of Avatar: The Fat Man For most of history food was scarce and only the rich could afford to eat well. Weight became a sign of wealth, as surely as an expensive car and Rolex watch is a sign of wealth today. In some parts of the world this remains true, and even in places under the effecs of cheep fast food and obesity we still remember the jolly fat king. For those who fall under his influence, bigger really is better. The Fat Man is the conceptual leader, the man who's status is visible in every roll of flab. Those who emulate The Fat Man will soon see their success, and girth, grow. Avatar Virtue: Prudence. A leader may be an inspiration who brings hope to his people. A king could display fortitude in face of war or dispense royal justice. But before he can use the fruits of his successes an Avatar must first achieve success through careful leadership. Avatar Vice: Gluttony. A king my be prideful of his position. An established leader may be envious of the youth and energy he sees in challengers to his position. That fat may be the result of sloth. But all avatars of The Fat Man share a love of good food and rich wine. Symbology: The strongest symbols of the The Fat Man are consumable luxuries; food, drink and cigars; from dinner plates heaped with gourmet to greasy chicken legs straight off the barbecue. In a pinch any visible sign of wealth can be a symbol of The Fat Man: Business suits, watches, cars, pens. It's all good. Icons: The overweight king, his belly flowing out from his ermine robes, is still the strongest icon of The Fat Man. Because of his visual distinctiveness the fat sweaty southerner in a white suit is a strong modern icon. Taboos: The first taboo is missing a meal, if The Fat Man ever misses a meal it is a sign that he cannot afford the time or money to eat. The second taboo is The third taboo is Avatar Powers: O: By spending a Willpower point the avatar can add his avatar score to his Persuasion for a scene. After all, it's his shrewd leadership and business acumen that paid for years of fine dining. OO: By spending a Willpower point the avatar can add his avatar score to his Presence for a scene. His wealth, status and leadership are as visible as his belly. OOO: The avatar is obviously a man of wealth and status, and challanging that is difficult. Anyone who tries to pursuade people to go against the avatar's decision suffers a penalty equal to the avatar's status. This only applies in situations where the avatar actually is in charge and his decisions are a legitimate use of his authority. OOOO: As an avatar's power becomes' truly supernatural his weight deforms the social scene until it revolves around him; much like a king's court revolves around the king. Whenever the avatar travels to a new location, roll Presence + Avatar. On a success people at his destination know he is coming and make appropriate arrangements, on a failure the player may spend a point of Willpower to achieve the same effect. The avatar will never need to book hotels or restaurants, as the staff will always hear that he's in town and save a table for the fat man with the fatter wallet. What's more, they will hear about it early enough to set aside a table even if that is long before the avatar decides where he wants his dinner. If the avatar is in trouble this effect will alert police, bodyguards or good samaritans: Providing there is somebody seeking the kind of trouble the avatar is in, they'll hear that they should be looking around the spot where where he's going to get into trouble. Drawback: The avatar is exceptionally difficult to miss. All attempts to hide, be it behind a sofa or by acquiring a false identity and a plain ticket to the Cayman Islands take a penalty equal to the avatar score. If the avatar wishes to travel somewhere discreetly he must roll Presence + Avatar, on a success people will know he's coming in advance. His own offices will prepare for inspection, and his enemies may do worse. OOOOO: As a living paragon of wealth the avatar of the fat man can easily acquire what he needs. Once per scene he may spend a Willpower point and roll Resources + Avatar to buy anything in sight. With a successful roll he could walk up to any car in the street, reach into his pockets and pull out the keys, what's more the title deeds, tax registration and all other formalities will be taken care of. If the avatar is walking home late at night and feels threatened, he could open his briefcase and find a gun and several several ammo clips that were in a shop window just a moment ago. There are some restrictions, this power only works on goods that could be brought in under an hour's worth of negotiation. It couldn't buy a large building or a company. Secondly the avatar does have to pay for his new goods, it costs whatever the owner would have agreed to if he was standing right there and negotiated a price. For goods where the owner simply will not sell, this power is useless and the avatar can tell at a glance what's not for sale. Generally people don't question the fact their goods vanished and money appeared from nowhere unless they're given a reason to. Example of Devotion: The Athenic Church The Athenic Church posses a fearsome Endowment, they wield the knowledge, skill, and lightning of their goddess. While the young following might not have the flexibility, raw might or (wo)manpower possessed by the older and more experienced Conspiracies their blessed minds let them use what they have to it's full potential. To form a pact a follower of Minerva must have the assistance of a priestess, in this religion followers are encouraged to express their faith through their professions such as a soldier or engineer, so a priestess is defined as a follower with Status 3+ rather than Professional Training. Minerva only offers her followers one pact at a time, and they have Devotion + the priestess' status dots to put into various blessings. As a goddess of war Minerva also grants her blessings when her followers lives are in danger, spend a Willpower point and roll Devotion. A Success allows a pact with twice Devotion dots of Blessings to be formed as an instant action. Minerva may even allow deferred payment, she knows the realities of war quite well. The tasks required to earn blessings vary depending on which aspect the partitioner worships. Followers of Minerva Bellipotens are typically asked to defend the Church, bodyguard a follower or strike at an enemy. Followers of Minerva Parthenos are typically asked to recruit a certain person, offer social support to a specific follower, or perform certain religious activities. Followers of Minerva Machinatrix are usually asked to create something honouring Minerva or to solve a problem facing the church. Simple religious tasks such as prayers may be asked of any follower. Sidebar: Sacrifices When Minerva asks for a sacrifice she is likely to ask for one of the following: silver, olives, a mixture of dogbur, plantain, and yarrow; Chiron vine or rosemary. For animal sacrafices she is likely to ask for either a white bull or a traditional suovetaurilia (sacrificing a pig, sheep and bull in combination). Longer pacts require more time, effort, money (and sometimes legal issues) to be devoted to a sacrifice. All pacts also include one universal condition: the hunter must remain celibate for the pact‘s duration. Furthermore, followers cannot enter pacts while pregnant. There are two common theories explaining this: (1) Minerva is a virginal goddess and will not entrust a portion of her divine power to someone who is less than pure; (2) an unborn child‘s health would be jeopardized from the divine energy humming in her mother‘s veins and the vow of celibacy is a protective measure. If a pact is broken a follower looses a dot of Devotion, a dot of Morality and fills half her empty Health Boxes with Lethal Damage. Typically wounds as burns or inexplicable talon wounds. It is not wise to anger a goddess. Minerva Armipotens Minerva has the power to throw Her father Jupiter‘s legendary thunderbolts. Her followers may channel this power through their fragile human bodies and produce a similar, albeit weaker, attack. One Dot: The Hunter reflexively spends a point of Willpower and electricity briefly crackles between her fingertips. She then makes a touch attack (Dexterity + Brawl – target‘s Defense) which inflicts (successes) points of lethal damage. Like with all versions of this blessing, the target‘s Armor does not apply unless it offers electrical protection. Three Dots: The hunter reflexively spends a point of Willpower and a yellow-white evanescent spear appears in her hand. Throwing this thunderbolt (which must be done the same turn as it is conjured) requires a roll of Dexterity + Athletics + Devotion and inflicts (successes) lethal damage. The attack‘s short range is (+ Dexterity + Athletics x 2). Medium range is double this and long range is quadruple this. Five Dots: Same as three-dot variant above except the thunderbolt inflicts aggravated damage. Note: A follower may have both the one dot and three or five dot variants of the blessing of Minerva Armipotens. She then has access to both the taser touch and thunderbolts. Minerva Cabardiacensis This unusual title (literally ―the heron that conveys wealth) hints at Minerva‘s generous and giving side. People dedicated to her suddenly discover the best bargains and never need to haggle. Three Dots: Anything the follower purchases is considered to cost one dot less of Resources. If there is an issue of upkeep or maintenance, such as renting a penthouse suite, the cost will revert back to normal when the pact ends. Five Dots: Same as the above but the Resource cost is reduced by two dots for the duration. Anything that is otherwise unavailable for civilian purchase, such as military-grade weaponry and outright illegal equipment, somehow becomes available to the character. This may still cost Resources 4 or 5, however, as the follower is unlikely to find a cheap tank or used jet just lying around. But the fact she even has the option of acquiring such equipment is a blessing in itself. Minerva Caesia Minerva‘s gaze is turned towards the material realm and She sees all that is strange with the world. The follower is suddenly aware that a nearby person or object is not normal. This feeling manifests in different ways, often a cold shiver down the spine, prickling goose bumps, an unusual taste in one‘s mouth or cramps. One Dot: The hunter gains the Unseen Sight Merit applied to all supernatural phenomena. She must spend one Willpower point to activate it for the scene as an Instant action. Her eyes become grey for the rest of the scene regardless of their original colour. Three Dots: The hunter gains the Unseen Sight Merit applied to all supernatural phenomena. It remains active at no cost for the duration of the current pact. Her eyes also turn grey for the duration. Minerva Ergatis Literally “work woman”. Invoking Minerva Ergatis temporarily makes the follower a better craftswoman. Even followers who are all thumbs become proficient artisans and skilled engineers. Worshippers, pray to Minerva Ergatis to excel in their jobs, and when building temples and works of art to honour their goddess. One Dot: By spending a Willpower point, a single Crafts-based roll gains 8-again. Three Dots: By spending a Willpower point, a single Crafts-based roll becomes a rote action. Five Dots: By spending a willpower point every Crafts-based roll in an extended action becomes a rote action Minerva Hospita In many ancient cultures hospitality is sacred, and by meditating on the name of Minerva Hospita a follower of Minerva can pray for a blessing on her role as a hostess. Three Dots: By spending a willpower and declaring her intent to serve as host the follower can call Minerva's blessing onto a building, she must own the building, or at least have the authority to host guests there. So long as Minerva's blessing remains the building is guarded from intrusion. To enter a person must have a Presence higher than the host's Devotion, in addition for so long as they remain within the blessed area their Intelligence, Strength and Presence are all reduced by the host's Devotion to a minimum of zero. Intruders who were already within the building when the ward is created suffer the full effects, if their Presence is lower than the Host's Devotion they must flee. Attempts to use a supernatural power on anyone within the building while outside also are also protected against, the monster must have a higher Presence than the host's Devotion and subtracts the Host's Devotion from all rolls to use their Dread Power. Only the host's invited guests, the building's usual residents, and their invited guests are exempt from the wards. A host may make a blanket invitation such as “followers of Minerva” and invitations that pre-date the blessing count. Drawback: The word host isn't a technical term, hospitality is sacred. Uniquely Minerva Hospita enforces an additional term on the pact over and above the usual requirements. Anyone who the host invites into an area blessed by Minerva must be granted proper hospitality, at the minimum this means that they must be provided with food, comfortable shelter, and safety. This doesn’t require the host to be superhuman, but it does require a good faith effort. If you make a blanket invitation to followers of Minerva and an invasion means one hundred faithful turn up at the nearest protected home, obviously it won't be comfortable, just do your best. If someone attacks your guest you're expected to defend them, but once they get away you don't have to keep fighting until your death. You can't kick guests out unless they violate their obligation as a guest (at which point they immediately suffer the ward's full effects), but you don't have to invite them back if they leave. Clever tricks like asking your husband to invite everyone so you don't have guests is breaking the spirit of the pact, and thus breaking the pact. Intent matters, Minerva is a wisdom goddess, not a contract lawyer. This obligation lasts for as long as someone remains within an area protected by the host's invocation of Minerva Hospita and vanishes with the protection at the end of the pact. If the host has no guests and dosn't want to be tied down a point of Willpower can remove the protection from a building, it may be restored later. Minerva Luscinia Minerva is famed for her companionship with the owl Nyctimene and the crow Cornix, her followers can sing the music of the birds. One Dot: By observing a bird and concentrating for a few moments a follower of Minerva can learn to speak with it's species. This requires a Wits + Animal Ken roll. If the bird is any species other than an owl or a crow there is a -3 penalty. Three Dot: By focusing on a willing bird a follower of Minerva can link their minds together. She can see what the bird sees and while linked then the pair may communicate telepathically. This requires a point of Willpower and a Wits + Animal Ken roll. If the bird is any species other than an owl or a crow there is a -3 penalty. Drawback: So long as a follower of Minerva is looking through the eyes of a bird she is unaware of the world around her unless something physically touches her body. Note: A follower may have both the one dot and three or five dot variants of this blessing. While the three dot blessing includes the ability to communicate sometimes it is helpful to speak to birds without spending a point of Willpower. A loyal bird is a one dot retainer. Minerva Medica Minerva is the goddess of a thousand works, most famously embodying war and wisdom but also medicine. By praying and touching an injured person or creature, a follower may channel Minerva Medica‘s healing grace. She cannot invoke Minerva Medica to heal herself. One Dot: The hunter touches her subject, reflexively spends a point of Willpower and rolls Intelligence + Medicine + Devotion. She heals one point of bashing damage per success. Three Dots: Same as the above but she may heal lethal damage as well. Five Dots: Same as the above but she may heal aggravated damage as well. Healing one point of aggravated damage requires three successes. Minerva Mensa Minerva is revered as the inventor of numbers, the measurer of time and a goddess of crafts and wisdom. Her followers can pray to Minerva to receive a blessing of wisdom. Three Dots: By spending a Willpower point, a single Intelligence-based roll gains 8-again. Five Dots: By spending a Willpower point, a single Intelligence-based roll becomes a rote action. Minerva Panteuchia This aspect of the Goddess invokes Her unsurpassed skill with every weapon. followers dedicating themselves to Minerva Panteuchia discover that quite literally anything is an effective close combat weapon in their hands. One Dot: The follower may ignore the standard penalty for using improvised weaponry. This costs nothing to use and is considered active for the duration of the pact. Three Dots: In addition to the above, any attacks the follower makes with a melee weapon gains either a +1 Damage bonus or +2 Armor Piercing. The bonus must be chosen when the weapon is first drawn (meaning once per weapon per scene). Five Dots: Same as the above. The follower may also spend a point of Willpower to gain the 9-again quality on all Weaponry rolls for the scene. Weapons that already have the 9-again quality will instead gain the 8-again quality. Weapons that some how already benefit from both gain no further bonus. Minerva Perspicax Invoking Minerva Perspicax gives the follower what is colloquially called owl sight or owl eyes. She gains night vision and her pupils expanded to fill her eyes while she peers through the darkness. One Dot: The follower spends a point of Willpower as an instant action and her vision improves to superhuman levels for the rest of the scene. She may ignore all penalties for seeing in darkness and other adverse conditions such as dense fog, smoke and heavy rain. This also grants a +1 Stealth bonus when relying on cover of darkness. Three Dots: Same as the above but this owl sight persists for the duration of the current pact. Her eyes reflexively adapt to darkness and there is no cost to activate it. Minerva Praestes Minerva is traditionally depicted as armored at all times or, at the very least, sporting a helmet. The Goddess likewise protects her faithful followers. One Dot: The follower spends a point of Willpower as an instant action and gains an armour rating equal to her Devotion dots. This armour only protects against supernatural attacks It does not stack with other mundane or supernatural armour the follower may be using at the time. This extra protection lasts for the remainder of the scene. Three Dots: Same as the above but the armour also protects against conventional damage such as from punches and gunshots. Five Dots: Same as above, but the armour is considered to be active for the duration of the blessing. Nyctimene and Cornix This is the only blessing not directly naming Minerva but, instead, her owl and crow servants. Calling the birds‘ names shoves the laws of physics aside as the follower leaps impossible distances or defies gravity by flying. One Dot: By spending a point of Willpower, the follower triples her successes on a single jump roll. The Willpower must be spent before rolling. Three Dots: The follower spends a point of Willpower and rolls Dexterity + Athletics + Devotion. Success allows her to levitate and travel in any direction up to her Speed rating. She must maintain concentration so staying airborne is an Instant action. She is not particularly graceful and has Defense 0. If she is successfully attacked or startled, the follower must reflexively roll Resolve + Composure to maintain concentration. If the roll fails, she immediately begins falling (WoD: Rulebook, 179). She may spend another Willpower point to regain concentration on a subsequent turn, assuming she hasn‘t already reached the ground yet. She is still susceptible to relevant environmental factors while flying, such as extreme cold or losing oxygen at higher elevations. Five Dots: Same as the above except the hunter does not need to maintain concentration to remain aloft. She may take other actions while flying including running (flying at a rate of Speed x 2). She does not lose her Defense against incoming attacks. She does not beginning falling from taking damage but only from being rendered unconscious. Note: A follower may have both the one dot and three or five dot variants of this blessing. The follower has the option of leaping great distances and either levitating or flying. It is sometimes better to appear unusually athletic when fleeing a scene as opposed to outright flying away.